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Job Description

Overview

The Welder II supports marine and shipboard operations at Oceaneering’s Marine Services Division (MSD) in Chesapeake, VA. This role requires welding proficiency, technical judgment, and the ability to perform complex work in high-consequence environments, with potential travel up to 75% of the year.

Responsibilities

  • Perform welding using TIG, Stick, MIG, and/or Flux-Cored processes.
  • Interpret blueprints, weld symbols, and technical drawings.
  • Fabricate and repair structural and piping components.
  • Select appropriate materials, joint configurations, and welding parameters.
  • Perform welding in confined spaces and elevated positions.
  • Meet visual, dimensional, and UT/RT inspection requirements.
  • Maintain safety, quality, and housekeeping standards.
  • Provide technical guidance and mentorship to junior welders.

Requirements

  • High school diploma/GED.
  • Minimum two years welding experience in an industrial environment, preferably in the shipbuilding industry.
  • Proficiency in TIG, Stick, MIG, and/or Flux-Cored welding.
  • Ability to interpret technical drawings and specifications.
  • Ability to obtain and maintain required welding certifications.
  • Must be a U.S. citizen who is not a dual citizen of any other country.
  • Ability to obtain and maintain a Secret security clearance.

Benefits

  • Health Insurance
  • PTO

Additional Information

  • This position may require overtime.
  • Working conditions include exposure to high noise levels, extreme temperatures, and working indoors in non-controlled environmental conditions.

Benefits

Health Insurance
PTO
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How this job compares in Chesapeake, VA

Pay in context

At roughly $31/hr, this posting sits about 11% above the $28/hr median for welding jobs across Virginia — toward the top of a $24–$33/hr middle band drawn from 72 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 71% of the comparable postings we have wage data for. Pay that far above local median usually comes attached to something: a harder cert requirement, travel, night shift, or overtime that isn't really optional. Worth establishing which before you accept.

The local market in Chesapeake, VA

Chesapeake, VA currently has 7 other active welding openings besides this one, spread across 3 employers. 2 of them were added in the last week. Across Virginia as a whole we're tracking 130 other active welding openings from 67 employers. That's enough local activity to be worth comparing two or three offers before committing. Browse every welding job in Chesapeake, or widen the search to Virginia.

Oceaneering currently has 1 other opening live in Virginia, which is usually a sign of either steady growth or steady turnover — worth asking which in the interview.

The most active employers in Virginia at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are Innovative Refrigeration Systems, Inc. (10), General Dynamics NASSCO (10), and RailWorks (6). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

Within Virginia, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Newport News at $34/hr, Norfolk at $30/hr, and Richmond at $28/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.

What you'll be running

This posting calls for MIG, TIG, and Flux-Core work. MIG (GMAW) feeds a continuous wire electrode through a shielding-gas nozzle. It lays down metal fast and is forgiving on clean material, which is why it dominates production and light fabrication work. TIG (GTAW) uses a non-consumable tungsten electrode with filler added by hand, giving the operator the most control of any process. It is slow, demanding, and the standard for stainless, aluminum, and anything where the bead has to look as good as it holds.

Similar openings near Chesapeake, VA

Pay figures are medians computed from live postings in the Welding Pros index, not from survey data, and they move as employers post. Welder II $3,000 Sign on Bonus figures were last recalculated when this page was built.